In a good mood for the DFB comeback
It’s not just vegan food that makes Mats Hummels indispensable
October 10, 2023, 12:26 p.m
Mats Hummels was out for more than two years, now at the age of 34 he is back with the German national football team. On the trip to the USA, the BVB star is fooling around with Thomas Müller and briefly misses his suitcase. National coach Julian Nagelsmann has big plans for him.
Before taking off from Frankfurt Airport, Mats Hummels had to rush to the drugstore. What did he want there? “Probably forgot the toothbrush,” said national coach Julian Nagelsmann with a laugh. It’s even more likely that he just grabbed a healthy snack. Hummels has been working with a nutritionist for three years, about whom he told the “Bild” newspaper: “Without her I probably wouldn’t play football at this level anymore.”
At that time, the common goal was set: to be there again at the home European Championships in 2024. With the highest level of professionalism in all areas, mostly vegan dishes and many anti-inflammatory foods. In October 2023, eight months before the tournament, Hummels is perfectly in line with his master plan. He made it back to the national team and it would be surprising if he wasn’t on the field against the USA and/or Mexico.
On the plane he jokes around with his old friend Thomas Müller; the funny series of the 2014 world champions was reminiscent of a school trip. Things only became difficult for the returnee to the national team in Boston, at baggage carousel 4: no matter how hard Hummels squinted his eyes, he couldn’t find his luggage without contact lenses. A DFB employee helped: It was already on the way to the bus.
Nagelsmann praises “great tactical understanding”
Your eyes may have been a little tired when you arrived in the USA – but footballer Mats Hummels, at 34 years old, is at his best. Experience, class, leadership: it’s not just on the plane that he’s back at the top of the hierarchy after a two-year break from the DFB. “I take on a leadership role, whether I’m on the pitch or not,” emphasized Hummels, it was a clear announcement. The nomination, he reported, was “an incredible and really nice confirmation.” And certainly a satisfaction – perhaps in retrospect it’s not such a bad thing to be unburdened by the World Cup debacle in Qatar.
In any case, he hits the mark with the new national coach. Nagelsmann liked the fact that he formulated his requirements in the first phone call; he appreciates clarity in communication. “He has a great tactical understanding, he coaches his teammates, he can pass on tactical things. We need players who take responsibility,” praised Nagelsmann, who is only two years older than Borussia Dortmund’s defense chief.
Hummels is “also performing very well at the moment. We have a very good impression of him.” Even a heavily bandaged thigh after the 4-2 win in the Bundesliga against Union Berlin didn’t change that. “Mats always has a bit of aches and pains,” said Nagelsmann, without meaning it in a derogatory way, “it’s normal that you always get hit in the game.” Hummels will be able to “play fully”. Maybe even together with Thomas Müller.